Boom

GREELEY, Colo. - In this parched farming region, where the land flattens out and every drop of water is precious, another player has lined up at the spigot. On a recent sunny afternoon, a huge cylindrical tanker truck rolled up to a red city fire hydrant and driver Jose Ofornio hopped out. With well-practiced efficiency he hooked hose to hydrant and began to fill. And fill. "It's really bad in the mornings," Ofornio said, noting that trucks often have to wait in line for their turn.

CARRIZO SPRINGS, Texas - Just a few years ago this was a sleepy town of 5,600, and people eked out a living from the land. They farmed, worked ranches and leased their property to hunters to make a few dollars. Now, an oil and gas boom is transforming the economy of south Texas, turning Carrizo Springs into a busy city of at least 40,000. Texas oil companies, tapping a vast formation called the Eagle Ford shale, have nearly doubled oil production over the last two years and by next year are expected to produce 4 million barrels a day. That would catapult Texas ahead of Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates to become the fifth-biggest oil producer in the world.

It was DJ Miguel Garcia's first time at last month's National Assn. of Music Merchants' big trade show in Anaheim, but he was in his element, hunched over an expensive DJ rig while spinning his own dance music. "These are probably the best you can get," said the 18-year-old house music performer, who goes by the stage name MikeeyKrook, admiring the Pioneer DJ digital decks and mixers while pumping out his song "Pyramid. " Although the annual NAMM Show is widely known as the place to check out new guitars and amps, manufacturers, retailers and musicians can hear the crescendo of business in a different venue: DJs making electronic dance music, or EDM. Once relegated to raves in warehouses, the electronic music culture has produced international superstars such as Skrillex and Tiesto and has expanded to events such as Electric Daisy Carnival and Electric Zoo Festival, which have put DJs in front of the glow stick masses.

The Seattle Seahawks lowered the Legion of Boom on the Denver Broncos, easily rolling to a 43-8 victory in Super Bowl 2014. The Seahawks' menacingly nicknamed defense was dominant, holding the Broncos without a first down until the 20th minute of the game, and Seattle continually made Denver pay for its sloppy play, which included four turnovers. It was the first Super Bowl championship for the Seattle franchise, which was making its second Super Bowl appearance. The Seahawks struck quickly in each half, scoring points at the 12-second mark in each.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Facebook's stock soared to a record high of $62.50 in midday trading Thursday, lifted by a wildly better-than-expected fourth-quarter showing, especially when it comes to clocking mobile advertising revenue. The giant social network, which turns 10 next week, said Wednesday that for the first time, more than half of its ad revenue came from mobile. And, at the end of 2013, more than three quarters of Facebook's 1.23 billion users logged in using their mobile devices at least once a month.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The Denver Broncos' Super Bowl media sessions have been conducted aboard the Cornucopia Majesty, a moored yacht that Monday featured Coach John Fox holding court on the first deck and players fielding questions two decks above. Receiver Demaryius Thomas stayed on an even keel when asked about a matchup against the Seattle Seahawks' "Legion of Boom" secondary and cornerback Richard Sherman . Thomas said that he met Sherman at a camp and that they "did some stuff in L.A. together.

Few regions were hit harder by the Great Recession than the Inland Empire, where foreclosures turned neighborhoods into ghost towns and real estate projects dissolved into weeds and broken dreams. So it's not surprising that four of the five largest banks in the region failed, sunk by risky subprime mortgages and failed construction loans. Citizens Business Bank was the exception. The bank, operated by holding company CVB Financial Corp., limited construction and land development loans to no more than 10% of its portfolio, far less than many of its peers.

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed rainy-day reserve is better than nothing, but it falls far short of what the state really needs to fix its cockeyed tax system. The governor is attempting to treat the symptoms of revenue instability rather than attacking the root cause of the ailment. At the root are two maladies: First, a politically convenient state income tax that leans too heavily on the rich, whose fortunes fluctuate wildly during times of boom and bust. Second, a very old sales tax too narrowly focused on retail goods rather than services.

WASHINGTON - Federal scientists have developed a system that could help prevent some contamination of wetlands and groundwater from oil development in the booming Williston Basin in Montana and North Dakota, according to a new study. Along with oil extracted from deep underground in the Williston Basin comes naturally occurring water called brine that is 10 times more saline than seawater and is dumped into reserve pits. Brine can contaminate local water sources through leaching from the pits, pipeline spills or accidents. At many area oil wells, 10 barrels of brine are produced for every barrel of oil, making brine disposal a significant issue as Williston Basin oil extraction flourishes.

After years of decline, the California Lottery is booming. The jackpots are bigger, and that's drawing more players and excitement. Just a few weeks ago, a Mega Millions ticket sold in San Jose matched all six numbers. The state-record prize of $324 million - worth about $174 million in a single payment - was claimed by a Northern California man Friday. The turnaround is due to changes made to the lottery in 2010, when revenues were on the decline. The changes brought bigger prizes, but they also altered the formula for how much revenue schools receive.